Lincoln Loud: Ghost Rider
by AANGPWNS
Summary: No Such Luck AU. After a fight with his family, Lincoln gets kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. However, a mysterious entity comes to help, with a certain deal...
1. Chapter 1

Lincoln Loud sat solemnly in front of his house, now having nowhere to go after being thrown out by his own family, because of his 'bad luck'. All he would see of his family was when they would be going to and from ball games, diners, and all kinds of fun family events without even batting an eye at him as they came and went. So eventually, after waiting for them to return from a baseball game for over half an hour, he decided it was time to speak up and stop this madness. Seeing his family drive up to the garage and go inside the house, he seized the opportunity and quickly walked up to the front door before they closed it, every Loud quickly turning around at the sound of extra steps to see a frustrated Lincoln standing outside.

"Um, what the heck are you doing so close to the house, Lincoln? I literally JUST did my nails, and your bad luck will probably make all the paint chip off." Lori said casually, as if forcing her brother to live out on the street was a normal thing.

"Yeah bro, I mean, I'm sorry, but you really shouldn't be in here, something bad could happen. Someone could get hurt!" Luna stated, showing more sympathy for her younger sibling.

"Lincoln Loud, what did we talk about? Do you want the roof to collapse on our heads or something? I'm sorry, Lincoln, but I'm afraid you'll have to go back outside. It's only for the best, son." Lynn Sr. said.

"Come on, would you guys stop with this bad luck stuff. I'm not bad luck! I already told you guys, I only pretended to be bad luck so I could have a little privacy! Don't you understand?" Lincoln told his family, nearly screaming from the ridiculousness of the whole ordeal.

"Oh yeah? Then why did I win 3 ball games in a row, and found 20 bucks on the floor today, all without you there? Leni even got a B+ on her history test today. A freaking B+! And all coincidentally while you weren't there. Face it, Lincoln, you're bad luck, and nothing that will change our minds on that. Not after all the things that have happened this week So just leave already. " Lynn Jr retorted back, frustrated that her "unlucky" brother was trying to ruin their good time.

"I will not leave, Lynn, this is my house, too! I'm not going to live outside in the freezing cold all because of your stupid superstitions!" Lincoln told his sister.

"MY superstitions? Lincoln, the whole family thinks you're bad luck, I just helped open their eyes! So don't go pointing your unlucky finger at me. Besides, it's not my fault you're bad luck. That's your problem. So just suck it up and go. Or do you want me to throw you out myself?" Lynn Jr stated coldly, eager to finally take care of her pest of a brother.

"Throw me out? Lynn, what the hell is wrong with you! What is wrong with all of you! Don't you care about me? Don't any of you care about me? Aren't I a part of the family too? It's like I don't even exist for you guys! For some reason, you only pull this kind of SHIT with me, and only me! You'd never do this to Lori, or Leni, or Luna, or anyone else for that matter! What the hell do you have against me! Is it because I'm a boy? Huh? Is it because I can't play sports or be perfect like my amazing little 'princess' sisters? Just tell me already!" Lincoln yelled, shocking his family with his outburst.

"Lincoln Loud, stop it this instant! You will not speak to this family in that manner." Lynn Sr scolded.

"You mean the family that I'm not a part of, dad? Is that what you mean? The shitty family and sisters that don't give a fuck about me?!" Lincoln yelled back.

But before his father could reply, Lynn Jr walked right up to the distraught and angry boy and punched him in the stomach, causing him to fall over in pain.

"Don't you EVER talk about us that way! GOT IT? EVER! Fucking idiot. Go die in a hole for all I care, you white-haired freak. Now, GET OUT!" Lynn Jr spat violently.

Everyone was shocked at what just happened. The two had gotten into fights before, but never had Lynn insulted or hit him like this before.

"Lynn…" Lori quietly said, shocked at what had just transpired.

"Little bro, are you…" Luna tried to ask, but before she could finish, Lincoln spoke up, clutching his stomach in pain.

"So that's how it is, huh? Fine, I won't come back to this house again. You won't ever have to see me or my unlucky face any more. Goodbye, selfish jerks." And with that, the young boy slowly limped out of the house and closed the door, disappearing from view, leaving his entire family with their jaws agape.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Lynn? Why did you punch him like that? Didn't you see how emotional he was?" Luna yelled at her younger sister, angry that she acted so ruthlessly towards her younger brother.

"Yeah Lynn, poor Linky looked like he was in so much pain after you hit him. He looked like he was gonna cry." Leni sadly stated.

"I mean, I know the little twerp is bad luck and all, but don't you think that was a little bit too much, Lynn?" Lori said to her younger sister.

"Well, I think he deserved it for ruining our fun." Lola suddenly said, earning a glare from the rest of the family.

"Didn't you guys hear the things he was saying about us? I couldn't let him keep spouting that crap!" Lynn Jr defensively answered.

"Lynn, watch your language!" Rita finally spoke up, almost too shocked to speak after what had just happened.

"Whatever, if you guys wanna be jinxed, then fine by me. I'm going upstairs to my room." Lynn Jr then marched up the stairs, angrily muttering some things to herself every step of the way.

Walking out the door, Luna and Lucy tried to see if their brother was still there, and saw that he was crying under a tree some distance away across the street, looking more solemn and depressed than they'd ever seen him before. It pained Luna to see her normally happy younger brother look so sad and angry, and she wanted to go over and talk to him, but upon seeing her, he quickly sent her a glare that made it clear he was in no mood to talk. Seeing this, she and Luna went back inside. The rest of the family also saw this through the window, and decided that it was best not to go out to him. Partly because they were slightly afraid to go up to him, not used to seeing their son and brother this way, and also because they were actually still afraid of being affected by his 'bad luck'.

Later that night, the Loud family had eventually gone to sleep and the young white-haired boy was finally able to stop crying and somewhat relax.

"Maybe now I can finally get a little sleep." He said with a sigh. He wanted to go to his home and sleep in the comfort of his own room, especially on a creepily dark and windy night like this, but knew that if he tried he would just get kicked out again, or beat up by his sisters. Unable to find his pillow and blanket, the young boy silently cursed himself, wondering if he really was bad luck. Seeing no other options, he decided to just sleep on the floor with nothing to cover him. Falling asleep, a couple hours later he awoke when he suddenly heard a noise some distance away from him. Quickly sitting up, he decided to call out into the darkness.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Lincoln barely spoke, almost freezing from fear. He really hoped it was just one of Luan's prank, or heck, even Lynn just coming to beat him up some more.

Suddenly, he saw a large man with a clown mask on walking towards him with a knife and rope. Lincoln nearly wet himself at the sight of this. He tried to run, but couldn't get his legs to move, fear instantly paralyzing them. The man quickly walked up to him and grabbed him by his shirt, stabbing him with his knife to prevent him from screaming, ripping his shirt in the process. Lincoln immediately gasped in pain, the cold knife twisting and cutting his insides. Seeing his chance, the man grabbed the young boy and dragged him to his car, putting him in his trunk. He tried to beg the man to stop through clenched teeth.

"P-please, s-sir, why are you d-doing this? I didn't do a-anything wrong. If you let me go, I-I promise, I won't tell anyone about this. Just please, let me go, please, please, I just want to be with my family, I beg…." He immediately stopped talking and quickly paled when he saw the man quietly and calmly pull out an even larger knife, someone's blood already staining it. Satisfied at his reaction, the man shoved the terrified child into his trunk, and quickly sped away, leaving the rest of the Loud family to sleep in blissful peace, unaware of the torture their son will soon endure.

* * *

After driving for an hour, the man eventually pulled up to his cabin in the forest, stopped the car, and popped his trunk, carelessly pulling out the small boy and dragging him by his leg.

"P-please, w-what are you going to do to me?" Lincoln quietly begged, tears running down his cheeks.

Suddenly, the man stopped, and dropped him, slowly turning around and taking out a knife and various other tools.

Upon seeing this, all Lincoln could do was cry.

"No... no, please,. I beg of you, d-don't hurt me. Please. Just please, don't hurt me! I don't want to die, please, I don't wanna die!" But the man paid no mind to his pleadings. Pulling out a roll of duct tape, he taped the young boy's mouth in preparation for the screams he will soon utter. Taking his knife, he went to work, slowly torturing the young boy in grisly ways, the boy only being able to utter muffled yells from the pain caused by the man's various weapons.

 _Please,... make the pain stop, I can't take it anymore. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. Just please make the pain stop! Mom, dad, God, anyone, I'll do anything... anything, just help me, please, I don't wanna die, please …_ He thought, wishing this horrifying nightmare would end.

After numerous more stabbings and beatings, Lincoln's body was unable to take any more, and he eventually passed away. The man then grabbed the boy's bloody, dismembered corpse by his legs and dragged it to a deep grave he had dug, dumping it in and slowly filling it in with dirt and cement, then finishing it off with a couple heavy boulders to make sure nobody would see the patch of newly layed cement.

* * *

Luna awoke at around 3 am to go check on her little brother and see if he was okay. Walking down the stairs and opening the door, she quietly called out his name, hoping for him to answer. Nothing. Not even a groan. Looking around for him, she quickly became worried that he had run away. She looked around the yard, hoping to stumble upon his sleeping form, and thought she saw a flash of orange and red. Relief washed over her. Approaching her "brother", she realized that it wasn't her brother at all. But rather, his shirt.

 _What's his shirt doing laying here... and with pieces of rope lying next to it? And why is his shirt all ripped, and... red…_ Realizing that the shirt was ripped and bloody, sudden horror dawned up the teenage girl.

"MOM!"

* * *

"NoO! Lincoln, my little Lincoln!" Was all the mother of the Louds could say. She just repeated it like a mantra, standing frozen over the pool of blood on the ground Lynn Sr looked too shocked to even say anything. The rest of the family could only stare at what was essentially the murder scene of their brother. Lynn Jr was the only one not outside, having heard what was going on as it was directly below her window, she could only stare at her bedroom wall, afraid to even move, from both shock, and guilt.

"It was my fault… Lincoln's death, was all my fault…" Was all she could say before tears began running out of her eyes.

Eventually, the police came and concluded that their child has likely been kidnapped, and, given the struggle and amount of blood, likely murdered, as the family had thought, and gave their condolences to the family before ordering everyone to go back inside while they begin their investigation.

* * *

As soon as he had died, Lincoln immediately awoke in an unusual, empty void.

"Wha... what is this place?" Lincoln wondered to himself.

"Wait... I... I died, I was murdered, so, how can I be alive?" Suddenly, he heard a loud, booming voice from all directions.

"You are not." The mysterious voice answered.

"I'm not? Wait... wh-who's there?" The young boy asked, quickly becoming afraid.

"A friend, boy. A friend here to offer some help... that is, if you are willing to accept it." The disembodied voice replied.

Lincoln could only look on warily.

"No need to worry, I mean you no harm. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it already. Now, to get on with the conversation, I understand you went through quite a _deadly_ ordeal recently, and I recall you saying before expiring that you would do absolutely _anything_ not to die, is that correct?" The voice spoke, quickly getting down to business.

Reliving the memories of what had just happened moments ago, Lincoln was unable to speak for a few moments, fear seeping back into his mind, before quickly clearing his head and answering the question.

"Yeah, it... it is." The boy answered solemnly.

"Then, answer me mortal, would you sell your soul to grant that wish?" The voice inquired.

This surprised Lincoln, and caught him off guard.

"My soul? Why do you want my soul?" Lincoln asked.

"My reasons for it are irrelevant to the question. I simply ask you, would you sell your soul to to return to the living?" The voice once again asked.

Lincoln looked around, and considered his options. If he kept his soul, he would just float around for all eternity in this void,, but if he sold it, whatever that means, at least he would get to go back to his life. Probably not back to his home, but at the very least he would be alive.

"I-I guess I would." Lincoln answered.

"Very good, child." The voice spoke. Then continued on.

"Now, to get down to the nitty gritty details of the deal, I would like to state that this is no ordinary soul deal. I barely even get anything out of it. Rather, this is more an act of personal business. Once the deal is complete, I will bond you to an extremely powerful and malevolent entity, an entity, as much as I hate to admit, far more powerful than me, that has agreed to be joined to you mortals to exact vengeance and consume guilty souls. This entity itself is a bond between a demon named Zarathos, and an entity called a Spirit Of Vengeance. Both entities are far, far, beyond death and your pathetic mortal world. Once you are possessed by it, you will acquire a thirst for vengeance and blood, and you will seek out and destroy sinners. My part of the deal, however, ensures that I get one of every five souls you destroy." The being stated.

"Okay...well, what do these 'entities' look like?" Lincoln asked the voice.

"Why tell you, when I can show you..." The being answered.

Immediately, out of the void, a giant image of a massive, hellish-looking skeleton on fire with demonic red, glowing eyes and a rusty, burning chain wrapped around it's chest appeared. Just looking at it scared Lincoln out of his wits.

"Holy…" Lincoln muttered to himself.

"Hah, anything but that, mortal." The being laughed, before continuing.

"Now then, child, do you agree to this deal brought to you by the great Mephistopheles?" He asks.

"I... yes, I agree." Lincoln sternly answered, wary, but confident in his decision.

"Well then, it's a _deal_." The being, Mephistopheles, declared

Suddenly Lincoln felt the entire void he was floating in begin shaking and cracking, morphing into a hellish looking place. Lincoln then felt a great presence of evil behind him. Turning around, he saw the massive skeleton from before, glaring down at him from his great height. Only this time, it wasn't just an image. It was real. Then, as fast as lightning, the being flew right into his body, and Lincoln felt like his soul was being ripped apart, and then somehow put together, but with something added onto it. And as fast as it started, everything quickly stopped and calmed down. Feeling the power in his body, Lincoln realized that it's already been done. He has been bonded with that demonic being. Snapping out of his senses, he heard the voice speak again.

"Congratulations, Lincoln Loud, you are now officially my Rider. Now, let the transformation begin!"

Then, with what felt like an agreement between the voice and the entity inside his body, everything started changing around him, and he began burning up. The pain was unbearable, he felt like his entire body was on fire, and looking down, he saw his skin slowly begin to melt off. Instantly, with what felt like a push from the spirit inside him, he was thrown back into his own world again, noticing dirt and wounds all over his body. He could feel that his face was all bloody and had multiple stab wounds all over it and the rest of his body as well, and his arms were missing, obviously cut off by his psychopathic killer. But none of that mattered to the malevolent spirit inside him, as from the short, bloody stubs where his arms once were, sprouted two large, fiery, skeletal arms. All his skin and muscle began burning off as well, and his entire body grew to a much larger size.

As this was happening, Lincoln began feeling different mentally; he was no longer afraid, and he didn't feel the burning or pain anymore. He started seeing memories of things he himself never saw. Things like angels, demons, sorcerers, different worlds, dimensions, and countless other things. He began laughing sadistically, the fires bringing him joy. He kept hearing the words "punishment", "vengeance" and "sinner" over and over again in his mind. He felt like he was becoming someone else. And in the last few seconds, just before fully transforming into the _other guy_ , he instantly realized that he was. He wasn't just physically becoming a demon, he was mentally and spiritually becoming one too.

All the while, outside his grave, a great storm began brewing. The ground shook, lightning struck all around, thunder boomed, and the wind whipped at high speeds, making it appear as if Armageddon was occurring, the earthly realm nearly unable to bear the energy of such a powerful being entering it. And in a giant explosion that blew off all of the boulders, dirt and concrete as if it was a bunch of powder and pebbles, 11-year old Lincoln Loud was no more. In his place, standing in his grave, was an ancient, immortal entity straight from the depths of hell, preparing to drag it's prey to it's realm for eternal torture.

And so for the first time in years, the Ghost Rider walks the mortal world again, punishment soon to befall all the guilty souls unfortunate enough to meet it.

* * *

The murderer was just about to leave the scene of the murder, when a huge storm started to occur. The man quickly went from calm to anxious, nervously attempting to flee as fast as possible before the freak storm claimed his own life. But before he even had time to get into his car, he heard a huge explosion from the area where he had buried the boy. Looking towards that direction, he saw a massive, fiery, skeleton with red eyes glowing out of the mist, lightning illuminating it's hellish, flaming skull, standing right where the grave of the white-haired child was. The eyes behind the clown mask widened from both fear, and surprise, as he realized that the boy that he killed WAS that creature, and immediately regretted choosing to kill that kid of all people. He couldn't think for long, though, as it then quickly approached him and wrapped an impossibly strong, vice-like grip around his throat and lifted him clean off the ground. He tried to hit the monster with a hammer he had used in his torture of the boy, and stabbed him with a knife multiple times as well, but the creature gave no care to all the man's attempts to get it to let go.

Realizing what the creature was planning to do, the man finally spoke, great fear clear in his voice. "P-please, d-don't kill me,... have mercy, please!"

The creature looked down at the man and observed a urine stain forming on his pants, as well as the smell of defecation. The demon merely laughed at this, enjoying the irony of the whole situation. The man only had a second to think before the creature suddenly stopped laughing and focused on him with it's soul-piercing, red eyes and let out a terrible roar, grabbing the man tighter and engulfing him in hellfire. As the man burned and screamed, the Spirit Of Vengeance satisfiedly felt the man's soul being dragged through dimensions towards it's hellish realm, doomed to be endlessly tortured in ways unimaginable by human minds. His final, haunting screams of suffering resonated through the forest, sending chills throughout all those who heard it...


	2. Chapter 2

Satisfied with it's savage kill, the Spirit Of Vengeance dropped the murderer's charred, unrecognizable remains and let it fall to the ground, deciding to get on with it's duty and don it's usual "uniform" for the job. Materializing biker clothes around it's body with a flash of flames, as well as a long, rusty chain that it whipped firmly into place around it's torso, the Rider grinned sadistically, keen to begin it's first ride of vengeance in decades.

However, it wasn't quite done yet, as with one last burst of flames, a demonic, horse skeleton-like motorcycle appeared from thin air, engine roaring proudly with the flames of hell, patiently awaiting it's master to give it the order. Grinning with anticipation, the Ghost Rider sat on it's trusty steed, and sped off into the foggy night, demonically laughing as it rode into the distance, eager to meet it's next unlucky victim.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Loud house, the family was unable to cope with the loss of their only son and brother, not knowing that their he was actually very much alive, and very much different.

"How… how could this have happened, officers?! Everything was perfectly fine when we went to sleep, how could things have gone so wrong?!" The mother of eleven, or rather, ten now, asked desperately, face red and dripping with tears.

"Well… we think the incident occurred about a few hours ago. Our investigators concluded that your son was likely kidnapped at around 1:45 am. Why he was outside so late, we don't know, but it's possible he simply went to outside for some fresh air, or perhaps out of plain curiosity of something he may have seen. Judging from all the things thrown about the yard, the boy likely put up a bit of a struggle, but eventually gave up after he was then either stabbed and wounded by a knife. From what we could tell from the blood stains across the ground, he was probably then dragged to the assailant's car and driven away, and unfortunately, from what all the evidence points to, most likely then... murdered... soon after. We're... all terribly sorry to tell you this, ma'am. We will leave you now to grieve..." The detective solemnly stated before leaving, understanding the family's pain, having seen too much of it throughout his years on the job

Hearing this, Rita could only fall drop to her knees and wail, nearly hysterical from the terrible details she just received about her only son's death.

"My boy! My little baby boy! Why?! Why?! Why did this have to happen! He was probably so scared when it happened. He probably called for me… called my name for me to save him from that monster! I'm a horrible mother!" Rita was completely inconsolable, her family desperately attempting to calm her down.

Lori was unable to take it anymore. Dropping her phone, she fell to her knees in grief and began sobbing along with her mother.

"Lincoln's dead... My little brother is dead, and I never even got a chance to make things right between us. I should've been there to save him, to protect him! But instead, the last dumb thing I did as a horrible, older sister was tell him to get out because of my stupid nails! I literally didn't deserve to be his sister…" Lori cried, reality setting in that her only brother was gone forever, all because of her stupidity.

Her father, however, quickly cut in, "Lori, no, don't say that. You kids weren't the ones here at fault, your mother and I were. Especially me. He tried to tell me, tried to tell us that he wasn't bad luck, but I decided to act like a complete idiot and fell for all that "bad luck" nonsense! I'm the one who doesn't deserve to be a father, not anymore…" Tears readily streaming down his as he said this, despite his attempts to control his grief.

Not too far away, inside the house, Leni was simply standing at the window for the past 15 minutes, unable to move, covering her mouth as she cried to herself, her eyes glued to the gruesome, bloody scene outside.

" Why did this have to happen to my little Linky... He didn't need to die like that. He was always such a good brother, so nice, and sweet and considerate, and now, his… his poor little body is just lying somewhere on the ground!" She began bawling at this point, horrified at the thought of her brother now just being lifeless corpse.

As for Luna Loud, the sister that was arguably the closest to the 'deceased' eleven year old, the young rocker quickly made a dash upstairs when she saw what happened, running into her brothers now unlocked room and jumping on the makeshift bed on the floor, crying hard into his blanket, the fact that he didn't even have his own bed making her feel terrible guilt in addition to the grief.

"I'm sorry, little bro, I'm so, so sorry for failing you! For letting this happen to you! How could I have been so stupid? I was supposed to be your guardian, the sister you could trust, and I turned against you all just because of some stupid freaking 'bad luck'. Wherever you are, Lincoln, little dude, I hope you can forgive me. Please… please… please, for-forgive me..." She practically yelled out the last few words, sobbing much harder now, turning to his pillow because of how wet the blanket was becoming. Her brother's scent just made her feel even worse, memories of her sweet brother coming back to her, making her mourn the loss even more.

Back downstairs, eight year old Lola looked up at her dad with pleading, teary eyes. "Dad, is Lincoln really dead? I mean, maybe… maybe he'll come back one day? Right, dad?! Maybe he just ran away, and he'll come back after! Please… just say yes, daddy, please, please just say he'll come back… I don't wanna lose my brother! I don't want Linky to be gone forever! I miss him!" the young princess asked, afraid to hear her father confirm the truth.

"I'm sorry honey, but Lincoln... isn't coming back anymore. He's… he's gone, honey, gone forever..." Lynn Sr sadly stated, attempting to wipe his tears before hugging his small daughter tightly.

"You don't know that, dad! You don't know anything! He'll come back, I-I know he will!" The little tiara-wearing girl sobbed, refusing to accept the truth as she cried into her father's shirt, the man simply rubbing her back to ease the pain.

Her mud-loving twin, Lana then spoke up as well. "But why, dad? Why can't Lincoln come back? I mean, he has to come back… he has to! He's our brother! He can't die, we all love him too much! He knows that!" She asked, trying to wipe her nose as she cried.

"Because, sweetie, Li-Lincoln… isn't... alive anymore. He's... he's in heaven, dear..." Her father sadly explained, as he too started to cry and sob, the reality of the situation hitting him even harder than before.

"I'm afraid that the terrible news is true, dear sister, our beloved older brother truly is tragically gone forever. Not even my science can bring him back... And I am partially to blame as well... as _we_... all are... " The genius of the family somberly explained to her older sister, trying to hold in her emotions, attempting to mentally remind herself that death was a natural part of life, yet still unable to hold back her tears that flowed out of her eyes.

Luan could only cry, holding a photo in her hands of her and Lincoln bringing the house down at one of their gigs, tears now staining the picture. Things were so bright and happy back then, and now… her life just feels like it was shattered into a million pieces.

"Life will never be funny again, not without you, Lincoln." The depressed comedian silently said to herself.

Lucy was unable to take the news and simply ran upstairs, quickly getting into and hiding in one of the vents, quietly crying to herself so no one would hear her. Being the family goth, one would think she would be the most suited at handling the loss of a family member, but in reality, her depressed personality just made it worse, her normal somber state magnifying by ten.

Her older brother always was a hero to her, making sure to help and protect her when he could, taking the blame for her, listening to her when no one else wanted to, letting her sleep in his room when she felt lonely or sad, too afraid of her sisters' mocking laughs to confide in them. He was the only one in the world who truly knew who she was on the inside.

And now, her only hero and friend was gone, never to return again, and Lucy never felt more lonely…

Nearby, Lynn Jr still sat firmly on her bed, not having moved at all since the moment she overheard the news of her brother's death.

"Lincoln… who... how did this… no… no… this… this isn't real. This can't be real, I'm… I'm still dreaming. I have to be… I-I bet this probably one of Luan's dumb jokes, yeah, that's it, it's all just one big dumb, shitty joke. Nothing more than that. There's no way Lincoln's dead, he..." But before she could finish, she heard her mother suddenly wail in grief, and she immediately realized it _was true,_ and her brother was indeed gone forever, the last memory she had of him being his hurt, betrayed face as he ran out the door after she so cruelly punched and insulted him. Just a few seconds later, her cries were heard all around the house, regret, shame, and grief completely overcoming the young girl.

* * *

Eventually, the police finished up their investigation and were about to leave, having already done all they can in the area.

"Uh, ma'am, sir, having searched the entire premises already, we have decided to conclude our investigation for now. We will continue searching for him, and we will catch the perpetrator, but we don't think there's much else that we can do here." The detective stated, not even suspecting that the family's actions were the cause behind all this, not after seeing how much they cared after one another. It simply didn't seem likely that the family was involved in any way, especially since all the neighbors they had asked all said that the boy and his family were very close, and rarely fought.

"Will you… ever find his body?" Lucy suddenly spoke, popping up out of nowhere, eyes showing through her hair and mascara stains all over her face. She had wanted to stay in the vents and continue to cry, but felt she needed to know if they would ever find her brother so he can be properly laid to rest.

"We… will try our best to find him. If a body does turn up, we will notify all of you immediately, but…" The detective then turned to look at the parents. "...we suggest you don't bring your children. Seeing their deceased brother in, what would unfortunately likely be a grisly state would greatly scar them, and I think your girls have already suffered enough." The detective somberly said.

Hearing the detective talk about their son's body, the parents could only begin crying again, never having imagined that they would ever have this conversation.

"We, uh… we understand, detective. Thank you." Lynn Sr said, consoling his wife, barely able to speak through his tears.

"It's not a problem at all, Mr. Loud. And once again, we are terribly sorry for your loss. " Giving one last nod, the detective closed the door and left with the other officers, leaving the family to mourn for their deceased sibling and child.

* * *

Elsewhere, not too far from the Loud family's home, 35 year old Maria Santiago, mother of Roberto "Bobby" and Ronalda "Ronnie" Anne Santiago, was walking home from a late shift at the hospital, having to fill in for someone else who wasn't able make it to work today. As a nurse, she had certainly seen quite a few things in her line of work, but rarely was there any serious crime in the town. Sure, once in awhile she would hear of a few incidents of rape and murder happening in the area, but never so frequently so as to make her fear for her safety. Unfortunately, however, that will all soon change tonight.

Though 3 a.m. was certainly no time for a woman, or anyone for that matter, to walk alone outside, she tried to push any creeping fears she had out of her mind and decided instead to make the best of it, turning her attention to the cool, crisp air and quiet, calm streets to ease her mind, humming a melodious tune to herself.

As she kept walking, attempting to enjoy the nighttime ambiance, she noticed a large storm suddenly form off in the distance, lightning illuminating the entire sky non-stop, and actually felt the earth shake pretty hard for a few minutes.

"That's pretty weird. An earthquake in Royal Woods, and such a strong one, too? I hope Bobby and Ronnie Anne are okay." She said to herself, concerned about her children's safety. Little did she know that she will soon come face-to-face with the cause of the powerful disturbance.

Eventually, after some time, the earthquakes came to an end, and the storm in the distance slowly began to wind down as well, putting the nurse at relative ease, no longer having to worry for her family's safety. Only being a couple of blocks away from her home, Maria couldn't wait to finally get home and rest, her feet sore from her long shift at the hospital. But as she was nearing her block, she heard a whistle come from behind her. Turning around, she saw three large, burly men dressed in thug-like clothes walking towards her. Slowly picking up her pace, she tried to go faster to quickly make a turn at a corner and lose them. But before she could do it, the men already quickly caught up to her.

"Hey, hey, nurse,... wait up, no need to take off running like that, we ain't gonna do nothing to ya. I just got a little _ailment_ that I think you can be of help with. See, I have this _thing_ that's been kind of buggin' me lately, and I just thought that a trained nurse like you would be able to help me out with this little, or, uh, should I say, not so little problem, heh heh." One of the men slyly said.

"Sorry, I can't help you." She said as she slowly walked away with her back turned, pretending not to notice their connotations.

"Whoa, c'mon chika, you're a nurse, aren't ya? You can't just leave a patient hangin', or should I say, standin', am I right?" The other man said, grinning pervertedly.

"Listen, I don't know what you idiots want from me, but if you assholes don't leave me alone, I'm gonna call the police right now. I'm warning you!" Maria said, taking out her phone as a threat,

"Oh no, not the police! We're so scared! Look, I'm even shaking from fear." One of them joked, mocking the young woman.

"Heh, don't worry chika, we'll leave you alone... that is, once we've had a little fun with you." The leader of the gang said, suddenly beginning to advance on the woman.

She took this as a sign to make a run for it, and quickly dashed down the street in an effort to lose her pursuers. Unfortunately, the bottom heel of her shoe snapped and she abruptly fell, badly spraining her ankle, causing her to scream in pain.

"Aww, looks like the little nurse needs a doctor. Don't worry, we'll take good care of you."

Quickly cornering her, the three men blocked off every area of escape, sadistic smiles adorning their faces.

She tried to crawl away, but everywhere she turned, one of them would stand in her way.

"Where do you think you're going, bitch? Trying to run away, huh? Well, the only place you're going now is to that nice little alley right there for a little playtime. Now get your ass over there." The leader yelled, grabbing her by her hair and dragging her to the dark alley nearby, her heart dropping into the pit of her stomach as she realized what was about to happen.

"No, no! Ahh! Someone, please help!" She yelled. Slapping and hitting anyone and anything she could.

"Alright, that's it, lady! Just for that, you ain't getting out of this alive." The leader angrily said, taking out a gun from his pants.

But before they were able to have their way with her, the loud roar of a motorcycle pulled them from their sick amusement, the three men quickly turning around to the source of the noise. Right there, coming to a screeching halt in front of them, was a literal flaming motorcycle, along with an equally flaming rider, both looking like they had just come out of the depths of hell.

"What the..." One of the thugs said, fear making him freeze on the spot.

"What the hell is that thing?!" The leader said, shocked at what he was seeing.

"I-I don't know man, but I think we should just drop the broad and get outta here! There's no way I'm gonna get near that-that thing!" One of his men replied, deathly afraid of going head-to-head with the demonic creature standing in front of them.

"Yeah, maybe… maybe we should... tha-that thing, it feels... evil, w-we better get out of here, and fast." The leader agreed with his lackey, suddenly feeling a terrifying sense of malevolence emanating from the creature . Letting go of the woman they had just attempted to violate and murder, they backed away as fast as possible, never turning their backs on it for a second.

" _YOU, GUILTY_." It suddenly spoke, the Rider's gravelly, demonic voice cutting through the silence like a knife.

" _PUNISHMENT... DEATH."_ It then declared, passing it's holy judgement onto the mortals standing before it.

The three men attempted to split up in hopes of confusing the demon, but instantly stopped in their tracks, a sudden invisible force lifting them straight into the air, their windpipes closing as well, cutting off air to their lungs.

" _YOU CANNOT ESCAPE VENGEANCE_." The Rider matter-of-factly stated, slowly approaching the three criminals.

Letting go of it's hold on the men, the demon let them drop to the floor, preparing to deal the final blow.

One of the men tried to punch it as it approached, but immediately let out a yelp as his hand made contact with the demon's harder-than-rock body, his knuckles badly bruised and bleeding.

Seeing this, the terrified leader gave one last attempt to stop the demon, taking out his gun and shooting it multiple times, attempting to kill or at least wound the monster. Unfortunately for him, the bullets simply ricocheted off, having absolutely no effect whatsoever on the entity; the Spirit Of Vengeance not even flinching or moving an inch.

Deciding it was time to end the pathetic game, the Rider then simply bent down and effortlessly crushed each of their heads with only it's skeletal fingers, blood bursting everywhere, their final, horrified screams echoing throughout the neighborhood.

Finished with it's gory duty, the Spirit of Vengeance then turned around and calmly walked back to it's flaming bike, before sitting on it and quickly riding away at impossible speeds, every lamp and light in the area exploding from it's mystical power. And there, nearby, stood an astonished, but thankfully safe, Maria, simply gaping in shock from she had just seen.

And so for the rest of the night, The Rider rode across the land, punishing any guilty souls it came across, be they thieves, rapists, pedophiles, child abusers, animal abusers, murderers, or serial killers; anyone guilty of sin would meet their fate at it's fiery hands.

* * *

As the sun rose and the guilty went back into hiding, the living embodiment of vengeance decided to give it's host back control of their body and return to it's realm, it's hunger to consume souls at long last satisfied for the time being.

Riding towards it's host's place of death, it relinquished control back to the boy as it neared the area, the fused entity of the demon Zarathos and the Spirit of Vengeance travelling back to it's hellish domain where it had existed and ruled for countless millennia.

With the demonic being now gone, the first thing Lincoln could do was shakily look around at his surroundings, his mind in somewhat of a daze from the awful night before. He saw the fire emanating from his body slowly vanish and the skin and muscle finally return to it's original place, thankful that the wounds from his death no longer marred his body.

Feeling dizzy and lightheaded, the young boy fell to his knees, vision blurry and mind disoriented.

"What… where am I…?" Finally regaining mental clarity, Lincoln looked up and came to find his own grave a few feet in front of him, blood staining the ground everywhere.

"This is … this where I died, isn't it..." He sadly said, horrible memories flooding his mind.

Crawling towards the grave, his own grave, the young child began weeping into the dirt, unable to hold everything in anymore.

"How did they just leave me out there… how could they have just left me out there… t-to die!" He wailed loudly, not caring if anyone heard him, if anyone even was around.

"I thought they loved me, they even promised they would never kick one of their children out. And now look… those pieces of shits just threw me out like I was a worthless piece of garbage! I got kidnapped because of them! I went through so much suffering because of their selfishness! Their fucking stupidity!" Lincoln felt like he was about to explode from anger and grief, all the events from the past week taking it's toll on the young boy.

"I FUCKING DIED! MURDERED BY SOME PSYCHOPATH! ALL BECAUSE OF THEM!" He suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs, tired of keeping everything bottled up inside all for the sake of a family that didn't even love him.

After sobbing some more and thinking about everything that happened between himself and his family, how much they tried to get rid of him, Lincoln solemnly came to a decision that it would perhaps be best if he would just move on with his life, _without_ his family by his side. Standing up and taking one last, sad look at his grave, the young boy sat on his now normal-looking motorcycle and prepared to ride back home and pack his things, as well as say one final goodbye to the ones he had once loved.


End file.
